A Memory
by patches-the-fox
Summary: After saving a young girl's parents from perishing in a fire, Sanji starts acting a little odd. Could be seen as SanjixZoro/ZoroxSanji, but it's more of a nakamaship. Rated M, for language, I guess? They are pirates.


The sunlight dribbled over the rough, choppy surface of the ocean, bright and crystal like fresh lemonade. Some moments later, the sleepy crewmates of the swaying ship, Going Merry, were stirring from sleep, rousing themselves from their dreams and assembling on the deck. The captain was the first to speak, giddy with excitement as he pointed into the sunrise. "Look, Nami!"

A few minutes later, they landed at the edge of a small populated island. "Alright, everyone!" She clapped her hands together and brought the attention of the crew to her. "We're stopping at this island to restock on supplies! If there's anything you must have, now's the time to get it! Also," She paused to eye certain crewmates (mainly Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro) suspiciously, "_Try_ not to attract too much attention, please?" 'Will do, Nami-san!" Sanji cooed. Zoro just grunted, and Luffy was too busy wondering if they had a takoyaki shop and sitting a puddle of drool to listen. _Yup, they're all hopeless._ Nami mentally facepalmed and rolled her eyes. "Sorry to keep you all waiting. Oh, and make sure to meet back here in an hour!" She called to the already leaving Luffy and Zoro. She sighed and furrowed her brow.

Zoro strolled through the town, his eyes rolling from one shop to another. There wasn't really anything he needed or wanted. He passed a bar, and noted that it would nice to have a personal stash of booze so he wouldn't have to listen to the cook griping every time he came in for a drink. Zoro yawned. Maybe he should just go back to the ship and take a nap. He wouldn't have to worry about his crazy crewmates and their antics, for once. He was about to do just that, when a shrill sound pierced the air. A human scream. He quickly darted off to find the source. As he turned the corner, he skidded to a halt at once. A three story building was ablaze, bits and pieces crackling and crashing to the ground. As he took in the sight, a streak of black and blonde ran past him, which must've been Sanji.

A little girl, not older than five, was standing near the building, perhaps too close for her own good. Sanji scooped her up and whisked her to safety as she screamed and bit him. When they were a good distance away, he placed her on the ground, defending himself from her punches and kicks. "You can't go back in there!" He exclaimed angrily. She stopped attacking momentarily, and choked and sputtered, "Are Mommy and Daddy- Are Mommy and Daddy-." Sanji's eyes widened and he tore away from her, bursting into the blazing building through the front door, which all too easily gave way and collapsed.

The little girl began tumbling after Sanji, and Zoro quickly intervened, wrapping his arms around her. She started shrieking again, pounding her little fists on his muscles. "Don't worry, Sanji'll get them out," He reasoned, but she didn't stop. As the seconds ticked by, Zoro watched anxiously, not only worried about the parents' safety, but Sanji's as well. A piece of burning timber suddenly came down with an almighty crash. Zoro gritted his teeth, and the girl was overcome with shock and fear, her mouth forming an O as tears silently trickled down her cheeks. If it wasn't for the kid, Zoro would've gone after Sanji long before now. The building looked as though it couldn't hold its own much longer. Zoro reached for his swords. That stupid cook should've been here by now.

He was about to abandon the girl when several figures came running through the open archway. Zoro sheathed his swords, his senses flooding with relief. Sanji was in the lead, one hand clutching an unconscious man slung over his shoulder, the other grasping the hand of a woman who looked as though she was stricken with fear and worry. Zoro let go of the girl, who tottered towards them, sobbing, "Mommy! Daddy!" The woman responded with a cry, releasing Sanji's hand. She rushed towards the little one, falling on her knees and cradling the girl in her bosom. Sanji came to a stop beside her, panting heavily and loosening his firm grip on the man. He exchanged a glance with Zoro, tough neither one spoke. For a few minutes, all that could be heard was the snapping of flames and the smashing of wood pieces, and the repeated whispers of the woman. "Thank you. Thank you."

Sanji ended up staying with the lady and her daughter until it was confirmed that their husband and father would recover. The man had suffered a few burns, though none too serious, and had lost consciousness due to an intake of smoke. The mother's dress and been scorched near the edges, and her hair was frizzy and singed, but she was clearly alright and had calmed considerably. Her daughter was exhausted from the day's events, and had fallen asleep in her mother's arms. Zoro, who had tagged along with Sanji since he had nothing better to do in the first place, was leaning against the floral patterned walls of the waiting room. He was perfectly fine, save for a bite mark on his wrist that he would graciously ignore

After the doctors announced the man's condition, Sanji stood up and dusted off his jacket. "Well, looks like my work here is done." The lady quickly gave him her sincere thanks one more time. Sanji just smiled and said, "My pleasure." As his fingertips touched the honey-golden doorknob, he paused. "Oi. You coming?" Zoro didn't need a second asking as he followed Sanji out.

Sanji was unpredictably quiet that afternoon. He'd spent most of his time keeping to himself in the kitchen, hadn't made any snacks for the crew, and kicked Luffy out twice without a word. Needless to say, Zoro was a bit surprised. He didn't consider Sanji to be full of himself (though he could be an ass when he wanted to) but he had half-expected Sanji to brag about his daring rescue. Instead, he hadn't seen head nor hair of him for the past hour. He sighed, and decided to peek into the kitchen and see what he was doing.

Zoro pushed the door open, took a few steps, and in case Sanji hadn't noticed, said, "Hey." Sanji looked up, but his eyes didn't meet Zoro's, because Zoro had just noticed the mess on the kitchen counter. There was a dusting of flour, rice grains scattered everywhere, a leaky egg, a puddle of syrup, several things that had been knocked over, and a bowl of some mushy mixture that didn't look too appetizing. Sanji sighed, pushing a few blonde strands of hair out of his eyes. "I don't know what I'm doing." He admitted tiredly. Zoro looked away. He wanted to say something, but he racked his brain and found nothing. So, he turned and left.

Zoro spent the rest of the afternoon training, though occasionally his mind would wander back to Sanji. It was odd for him to say he didn't know what he was doing, hell, he was a cook. As he was called to dinner, Zoro wondered vaguely if the food would edible. Sanji had prepared onigiri and stir-fry. Nothing too fancy, but all food comes out the same, so it didn't matter to Zoro. Luffy didn't seem to mind either, he was currently trying to stuff as many onigiri as he could into his mouth.

Later, as the dishes were piling up in the sink, Zoro meant to get a word in with Sanji. He approached Sanji with his plate, but he felt uncomfortable about what he was going to say. A single word escaped his lips. "Here." Sanji silently took the plate and placed it on top of the stack, then returned to the glass he was scrubbing. Zoro lingered for a moment before he left the kitchen again.

The crew stayed up late that night, mainly because Luffy and Usopp were telling scary stories. Finally, Nami complained that she needed her beauty sleep, and everyone decided to tuck in for the night. Zoro curled up and decided that he could talk to Sanji tomorrow…besides, it wasn't like it seriously concerned him. He'd actually avoided getting into a single fight with the love-cook all day. He yawned, slowly closing his eyelids, and dozed off…

What was that? He reached for his swords, which weren't there, only to find a couple of rubber fingers tickling him under the nose. He sighed, glaring at Luffy's oversized rubber arm hanging over the side of the hammock. "Seriously…" He took a moment to look around. Everyone seemed pretty conked. For a fleeting second, an idea struck him that maybe he should wake up Sanji to talk to him. Nah, that'd just give him extra lumps to deal with in the morning. He kind of wanted to talk to him in private, in case the cook got all snitty about it being something personal. He glanced sleepily at Sanji's hammock. It was empty.

He suddenly sat up. Sanji wasn't asleep? He decided to take a look topside, although he couldn't fathom what Sanji was doing at this hour of the night. As soon as he emerged from below deck, the first thing he saw was Sanji's silhouette, leaning against the railing and emitting wisps of smoke. Zoro trudged over, rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing up so late?" So he'd noticed. "I could ask you the same thing," Zoro said pointedly. When Sanji didn't say more, Zoro reluctantly broke the silence. "Look, what's wrong? You haven't been you lately." "Nothing's wrong. Go to sleep." Zoro narrowed his eyes. Stubborn ass. He rubbed his face tiredly. "Sanji." He tried to sound a little more concerned. "I know something's been bugging you since this afternoon. If there's something bothering you, better just say it. I'm here now, I'll listen." Zoro walked over to Sanji and leaned on the railing as well, waiting for an answer.

Finally, Sanji sighed. "Remember that little girl from earlier?" "Mm hm." "Well," Sanji paused to take a drag from his cigarette. "I was just thinking…you know, how she almost lost her parents and all." He paused again, this time blowing out a perfect smoke ring. Zoro let the silence mingle between them, not wanting to interrupt. "I lost my parents when I was about her age. I was on my own until I met the old man." Sanji rubbed his forehead. "I still have dreams about them, sometimes. Just searching, and never finding them." He was silent for a whole minute. "I don't know," he finished lamely, shrugging his shoulders a little. Zoro raised an eyebrow. "So, basically, this whole time you've just been moping with self pity?" Sanji snorted at that. "Yeah, basically." Zoro wasn't the type to gush sympathy, and he certainly wasn't going to try.

Still… "Why are you telling me this?" Sanji looked surprised. "Because you're here. Because you asked." Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "Are you bothered or something?" "Nah," Zoro grinned. "Just thought you wouldn't want to expose your past to a marimo like me. Seeing as how you're so perfect and all." Sanji's face filled with surprise again, and then he chuckled. "Shit," he said, exhaling smoke. "I ain't perfect." They both stared out into the open seas, a comfortable silence settling between them.

Zoro yawned. "Wanna call it a night?"

"Yeah," Sanji answered, flicking his cigarette into the ocean.


End file.
